Sweet Sixteen
by Devil Boy
Summary: Ren just turns 16, which brings fun, happiness, and love. A Sadie Hawkins dance is coming up, who will Ren ask? And will she date this person? Also, she gets grief from a fellow student.
1. Getting Dates

Sweet Sixteen  
  
Chapter 1: Getting Dates  
  
A/N: * * around sentences indicates thoughts.  
* * * * * * * * * *  
Sixteen-year old Ren Stevens walked up to her locker, opening the combination lock and opening the door. She put her Chemistry and Calculus textbooks in and closed it, turning the combination again to make sure it was locked. It was the end of the day and she was going home, about to go out to the parking lot to her car. She was one of the few students left, and it was her birthday, so she wanted to get home, she was throwing a small sweet sixteen party for herself and a few friends. On her way down the hall, she saw Larry Beale walking to the parking lot also. She walked to the double doors and Larry was there, a few steps ahead of her. He held the door open for her, and gave her his biggest smile.  
  
"Um... thanks, Larry," she said, with a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"No problem Ren, and happy birthday," he said, smiling again, and walking over to his own car, then pulling out of the parking lot. Ren stopped by her car, and thought about what just happened. *He's just trying to get to me,* she thought, pulling out her keys, and unlocking the door. She put the keys in the ignition and was just about to pull out when her younger brother ran up to the car.  
  
"Ren, can you give me a ride please?" he asked, getting in without waiting for an answer.  
  
"Louis, I thought you were walking home with Tawny today?" she said, driving out into the road.  
  
"I was going to, but she had to stay after school to finish some project for science," he answered.  
  
"Oh," Ren said. She and Louis got along a lot better now that they were in high school. She turned onto another road, and they didn't talk much for the rest of the way. Soon, they were at their house. They got out, Louis running inside right away, and Ren shutting and locking the car doors. She hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder and walked into the house, going into the living room where her family was going to give her her presents before the party started.  
  
"Here you go Ren," her dad said, and he and her mom handed her a medium sized present wrapped in blue wrapping paper. Ren said, "Wow, thank you," as she was pulling off the purple ribbon. She opened the box and pulled out an expensive sweater that she had wanted. "Oh, my sweater," she said, and smiled and hugged her parents. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome, sweety," her mom said. "Oh," her mom said, "Donny sent this in from college." and handed her an envelope.  
  
"Well, it's not his picture this time," she said and laughed, opening the envelope. It was a gift certificate for a store she liked to shop at. "Thanks Donny," she said to no one in particular, and sat it down on top of her sweater on the couch.  
  
"Ren!" Louis said, coming down the stairs with a present. "Here, I didn't forget this year," he said and laughed.  
  
"Louis, can't wait to see what it is," she said, hoping he was thoughtful about the gift, like the time he had gotten her the necklace she really wanted. He came over to the couch and handed the present to her. She took it and he sat down in a chair nearby. "Hmmm," she said thoughtfully as she unwrapped the sloppily wrapped gift. She took the wrapping off slowly, and finally got to the box it was in. She glanced up to see Louis smiling, and she opened the box cautiously. Inside was a pink teddy bear with the words 'Best Sister' stitched into it in red lettering.  
  
"Louis, it's so cute," she said. "And very thoughtful," she added. "Thank you." She smiled at him and he smiled back.  
  
"You're welcome sis," he said.  
  
"Okay, now Ren," her father said. "Your party is in an hour, and we'll help you get ready, and we promise to steer clear while you and your friends hang out. We'll be here for cake and presents, then we're going out, so you can have the night all to yourself."  
  
"Oh, well thanks dad," she said happily.  
  
"Alright Ren, let's get started. Louis, help me please," their mom said as she was bringing out some blown up balloons. "Don't worry hun, we only have balloons, no party hats or streamers or anything cheesy."  
  
Ren laughed. "Thanks."  
  
Louis and their mom brought out balloons and their dad brought out the cake, and set it on the coffee table with the cover still on it. Ren picked up her sweater, teddy bear, and gift certificate, and brought them upstairs to her room. She put the sweater in her dresser and put the certificate on her nightstand. She moved Mr. Pookie over to the side of her bed and put the bear from Louis right next to it. Then she went back downstairs to throw away all the wrapping paper and tidy up the living room.  
  
An hour passed in no time at all, and soon her friends were arriving, mostly girls, but a few boys too. Ruby was the first to arrive, followed by Charlotte, Yvette, and Jewel. (A/N: these are friends of hers from older episodes, you might not remember them.) Nelson came next, and then there were a few more of her friends. Last to arrive was Tawny.  
  
"Oh, hey Tawny, I didn't know you were coming," Louis greeted her.  
  
"Yeah, Ren invited me," she said, and kissed Louis on the cheek. Louis smiled and they went into the living room to join Ren's party. Ren got a lot of good presents, such as CDs, jewelry, a purse, etc. They played a couple cheesy games, then ate the cake, then they talked and had fun. Ren and Louis's parents left, and the guests only stayed for a few hours after that. Soon, Ruby was the only guest left, but she was spending the night.  
  
Louis got up out of his chair and yawned. "I'm goin' to bed Ren, 'night," he said, a headed up to his room.  
  
"'Night Louis," she said. She and Ruby stayed downstairs in the living room to talk.  
  
"So Ren," Ruby said slyly, "Who do you like now? I mean, it went from Bobby, to that one guy, to that Mark guy, then those two other guys, then there was Chris, so who are you crushing now?"  
  
"Ruby, I don't have a crush right now, and I think you're exaggerating about me having all those crushes," she said.  
  
"Uh huh," Ruby replied, rolling her eyes.  
  
"You are, Mark wasn't a crush, I just said that he... had nice eyes," she said slowly, trying to convince her friend.  
  
"Whatever Ren, just tell me," Ruby said.  
  
"Nobody," she said. But then she thought *Except Larry Beale...* When she thought that, she closed her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. *I can't believe I just thought that*  
  
"What's wrong Ren? Think of one?" Ruby said, grinning.  
  
"Okay, I need to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone," Ren said.  
  
"You don't trust me or something?" Ruby said, pretending like she was hurt by that.  
  
"It's not that, but you've been the gossip queen since 8th grade," Ren said.  
  
"Okay, okay, so I've spread the news a bit, but you're my best friend, I won't tell anyone, I promise," she said.  
  
"Okay, well..." she said, starting off slowly. "It happened today, after school and I was heading to the parking lot to my car and then, this guy," she said, not wanting to say Larry just yet, "opens the door for me and says happy birthday."  
  
"Oh that's sweet, and do you like him?" Ruby asked.  
  
"I think I might, I'm not sure, but I can't like him, he's like my enemy," Ren explained.  
  
"Your enemy... you don't mean... Larry do you?" Ruby asked, slightly shocked.  
  
"Yeah, I do mean him. I've always hated him, or so I thought. He's my leading competition at school stuff, and we always fight, but I've never really thought about him like that until today," she said.  
  
"Well get to know him Ren, maybe he's nicer than he puts on. Plus, you guys would look sooo cute together," Ruby said seriously.  
  
"I don't know," Ren said.  
  
"Come on Ren, he obviously likes you, he showed it after school," Ruby told her.  
  
"I'll think about it," Ren said.  
  
"Great, I hope you guys hook up," Ruby said and smiled.  
  
Ren grinned and said, "Maybe." The girls talked about other things, then finally got up to go to bed at around eleven.  
  
* * *  
[Next Day, Saturday]  
  
Ren and Ruby were eating breakfast when Louis walked downstairs. "Hey," he yawned.  
  
"Hi Louis," Ruby said.  
  
"Louis, we're going to the mall now, so when mom and dad wake up, tell them where we went," Ren said, and she and Ruby got up and walked to the door.  
  
"Alrighty," he said, and poured himself a bowl of cereal.  
  
Ren and Ruby went out to Ren's car and drove to the mall. On the way, Ruby brought up the subject of Larry.  
  
"So, the dance is coming up, it's Sadie Hawkins. You should ask him."  
  
"Maybe," Ren said. "Who are you gonna ask?"  
  
"I don't know yet, but I have an idea," she said.  
  
"Tell me," Ren said.  
  
"Well, I guess it's only fair since you told me about Larry," she replied.  
  
"Exactly," Ren said.  
  
"Nelson," she said, and looked over at Ren to see her reaction.  
  
"Nelson? That's great!" Ren said.  
  
"Well, we've been friends since elementary school, we know each other well, so I hope it'll work out.  
  
"It will, trust me," Ren said. They finally got to the mall and they got out, locked the car, and went to the food court to sit and talk for a minute.  
  
"Oh my God Ren, there's Larry," Ruby said, pointing over by the escalator.  
  
Ren turned and looked. "Shh, not so loud," she warned. "I'll go ask him, I've made up my mind."  
  
"Go Ren!" Ruby said happily.  
  
Ren rolled her eyes and walked over to where Larry was standing, alone. "Larry, hi," she said.  
  
"Ren," he smiled. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing much. I was just wondering if you'd maybe like to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me?" she asked quickly before she changed her mind about asking him.  
  
The question caught him off guard. "Me? And you? Are you serious?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, well if you don't want to..." Ren said slowly.  
  
"No, no, it's not that, it was just surprising to hear my competition for academics ask me out, that's all."  
  
"So is that a yes?" she asked.  
  
"Sure why not? What'll it hurt, we should get to know each other better," he said.  
  
"Great," she said.  
  
"When is the dance again?" he asked.  
  
"Next Saturday, a week from today," she said.  
  
"Cool, pick you up at seven?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's fine," she said.  
  
"Alright, well I've gotta go, see you at school on Monday," Larry said, and left.  
  
"Bye," she said, and walked back to Ruby.  
  
"Did you ask him? What did he say?" she said excitedly.  
  
"Yes I asked him, he sounded surprised, but he said yes," Ren explained.  
  
"That's great Ren! Just imagine, you went from hate to love," she said.  
  
"It's not love Ruby, we haven't even gone out yet."  
  
"You'll see Ren, you'll be perfect together," Ruby said.  
  
"Now it's your turn to ask Nelson. And speak of the devil, there he is," Ren said, looking behind Ruby to see Nelson walking to the exit. "Hurry, before he leaves."  
  
"No way Ren, not yet," Ruby said.  
  
"Yes way, I asked Larry, you ask Nelson."  
  
"Fine, be right back," she said, and got up and hurried up to Nelson. "Nelson."  
  
"Hey Ruby," he said.  
  
"Okay, this is going to sound weird, but..." she started.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, never mind, it's not important," she said, chickening out.  
  
"Wait, I have to ask you something," he said, and she looked up to his face.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, I know the upcoming dance is Sadie Hawkins, but do you wanna go with me?" he asked.  
  
"Really? Yeah, I will, that's what I was going to ask you," she said.  
  
"Cool, what time do you want me to pick you up?" Nelson said.  
  
"Um, seven's good. Bye Nelson," she said, and walked back to the table as Nelson left.  
  
"So?" Ren asked as Ruby sat back down.  
  
"It was weird, I didn't even have to ask him, he asked me," Ruby said excitedly.  
  
"Wow, that is weird," Ren agreed.  
  
"Now we both have dates. We can have a double date after the dance! That'll be fun," Ruby said, planning the night out already.  
  
"Okay, now let's go shop before it gets busy," Ren said, and they got up to go shopping.  
  
* * *  
  
Ren dropped Ruby off at her house and went home. When she went inside, Louis walked up to her. "Ren, you know that guy Zack that's in my grade?"  
  
"Yeah, what about him?" she asked.  
  
"Well he asked Tawny to the dance, but she's going with me, and then he told her that he was going to ask you," Louis said.  
  
"I already have a date," Ren said.  
  
"Who?" Louis said curiously.  
  
"None of your business," she said, not wanting him to know it was Larry. He hated Larry as much as Ren thought she did.  
  
"Whatever, well I was just telling you."  
  
"Thanks," she said, and went upstairs to try the dress on that she bought for the dance one more time.  
* * * * * * * * * *  
Chapter 2 soon. Please reply if you liked it. 


	2. Monday

Sweet Sixteen  
  
Chapter 2: Monday  
  
A/N: * * around sentences indicates thoughts.  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Soon, Monday rolled around and Ren was on her way to school with Louis. As soon as Ren pulled into the school's parking lot, Ruby ran up to her car.  
  
"Ren, so how are you and Larry?" she winked, after Louis had gone to catch up with Twitty and Tawny.  
  
"Ruby, we're just going to the dance together, it doesn't make us boyfriend and girlfriend," Ren said.  
  
"Well, that's not true for me and Nelson," Ruby replied happily.  
  
"Why? Are you going out on a date or something?" Ren asked.  
  
"Yes! Tonight we're going to see a movie and going out to eat," Ruby told her.  
  
"Nelson sure is a fast mover," Ren said.  
  
"Yeah, it's so sweet," Ruby said.  
  
"Ruby, we better get to class or we'll be late," Ren said, looking at her watch.  
  
* * *  
[Ren and Ruby's 1st hour]  
  
"Okay class," the teacher began. "We're going to do an art project that will take until the end of the year. This will be a long project, and very hard, so I'm assigning groups for you to work in. First I'll assign the groups, then I'll explain the project."  
  
Ren looked around the classroom to see if there was anyone in there that she might like to work with. There was Ruby and Nelson, who were sitting at her table, and Larry was in the class too, and a few other people she liked. But she also saw Mandy and Bobby, in the back, passing a note back and forth. *I still can't believe he was cheating on me, and he's still with her, after 3 years.*  
  
"Okay class, here's the groups. Group One will be Lindsey, Chris, Gary, and Ruby."  
  
Ruby looked bummed that she wasn't with any of her friends. But the teacher was still assigning groups, and Ren might still get to be with Larry or Nelson.  
  
"Group Two will be Jeremy, Valerie, Larry, and Rachel. Group Three will be Nelson, Jeff, Samantha, and Carrie. Group Four will be Heather, Danielle, Ashley, and Ben."  
  
*Oh no* Ren thought. *That's half of the class, so there must be four more groups, and my friends are already in groups. What if I'm stuck with Bobby?*  
  
"Group Five will be Carla, Jason, Eddie, and Lisa. Group Six will be Jennifer, Trevor, Greg, and Tanya. Group Seven will be Bobby, Shannon, Lila, and Derrick."  
  
*Yes, I'm not with Bobby!* Ren thought happily.  
  
"And group Eight," the teacher continued. "will be Ren, Josh, Vic, and Mandy."  
  
*OH NO! Not Mandy, I can't be with her, she was having an affair with my boyfriend in the 8th grade!* Ren thought, and looked back at Mandy and Bobby. They seemed sad that they weren't grouped together.  
  
"Now class..." the teacher started until he saw that Ren wasn't paying attention. He stopped talking and waited for Ren to turn back around. When Ren finally realized that the teacher had stopped talking, she turned around to face the front.  
  
"Oops, sorry Mr. Phillips," she said.  
  
"It's nice of you to join us Miss Stevens," he said. "Now, as I was saying..." he started again, until he saw Mandy and Bobby passing notes in the back of the room. He walked back there and grabbed the note out of Mandy's hand. "Shall I read it to the whole class Miss Sanchez?"  
  
"We're sorry Mr. Phillips, it won't happen again," she lied.  
  
"Well, to make sure you don't do it again, I'll read it to the class," he said, until he read what was written on the paper. "Well, maybe not. Sanchez, Deaver, see me after class."  
  
Mr. Phillips went back up to the front of the room, put the note in his desk drawer, and started talking again. "Let's try this again class. For this project, you will need to create a town out of boxes, tubes, etc, and have a population of clay people. Since we're studying clay right now, you should know how to make the people fairly well. I want the buildings to be very neat, not sloppy, and everything should be perfect. I want effort, time, and thought put in to this assignment. You will be graded on teamwork, neatness, creativity, style, layout, and completeness. This will be an in-class project, and we'll start working tomorrow, but I want you to get with your groups right now and start thinking up ideas."  
  
Ren got up and went over to the table where Josh and Vic were. A few seconds later, Mandy was there too.  
  
"So Ren, we're grouped together huh?" Mandy said, then turned to the guys and started flirting with them automatically. Ren rolled her eyes and waited for the bell to ring, knowing she'd probably have to do the whole project herself. As soon as the bell rang, Ren got up and joined Ruby and Nelson, walking to their next hour (past Mandy and Bobby who were in front of the class with Mr. Phillips.), which they all were in together.  
  
Just then, Larry walked by. "Hey Ren, we still on for Saturday?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," she said, and he walked off to his next class.  
  
"Ren and Larry?" Nelson asked, stunned.  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to give it a try, maybe he's nicer than he seems," Ren said.  
  
"Don't you remember in middle school, when I tried to beat him up for you, and this is how you take it? From his stuffing me into a locker to you dating him?" Nelson said.  
  
"Nelson, don't worry, if he stuffs you in a locker, I'll stop being nice to him. Don't worry, I think he's changed from middle school," she replied.  
  
"Okay," he said doubtfully, and they turned into their second hour English class.  
  
From second hour to last hour, the day went by like a breeze for Ren. And as she was walking out to the parking lot, again she met up with Larry. "Ren," he said.  
  
"Larry, hi," she said, stopping.  
  
"I was just wondering if you'd like to go out with me tonight, to the park for a walk or something," he said.  
  
"Oh... sure, that sounds great Larry, what time do you want to go?" she asked.  
  
"I like taking walks late, when the air's nice and cold. It makes it nice. So how about like 10?" he asked.  
  
"That's fine, but my curfew's midnight. Are you going to pick me up?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, see you tonight," he said and walked to his car.  
  
Ren waited in her car, she knew she was giving Louis a ride today. He came out about five minutes later.  
  
"What took you so long?" she asked him.  
  
"I had to finish up a test, but can we get home real quick? Because me and Tawny and Twitty are going for some pizza and I've got to get some money," he said.  
  
"Yeah," she said, and they drove home. Ren went up to go up to her room, but her mom greeted her on the stairs.  
  
"Hi honey, can you babysit the neighbor's kids tonight? Your father and I are going out and Louis isn't going to be around either," she said.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry mom, I have a date," she said.  
  
"Oh that's good," her mom said. "Who's the lucky boy?"  
  
"His name's Larry, we're going for a walk."  
  
"Okay, I'll tell the neighbors you can't babysit, but be careful on your date tonight," she said, heading down the stairs.  
  
"I will," she said, and went to her room. She went to her dresser and got her new sweater out, and picked out a pair of blue jeans to wear that night. She laid them on her bed next to Mr. Pookie and her 'Best Sister' bear, and went to go take a shower. When she was done, she put on her sweater and pants, and combed her hair. She wanted to be ready, but she still had six hours, so she spent that time doing homework and reading a book. She grabbed some chips to eat, and soon the doorbell rang.  
  
"Ren, Larry's here to pick you up," her mom called. Ren went down the stairs to meet her date. "Oh, and Ren," her mom said. "Remember, your father and I are going out for the night, we won't be back until one or two in the morning, and I guess Louis is staying at Twitty's, so make sure that you're back by 12. Bye sweety."  
  
Ren said goodnight and she followed Larry to his car, where he opened the door for her. "Thank you Larry," she said, and she put her seatbelt on. Larry got in and did the same, and he started driving.  
  
"Ren, I'm glad we're going out, because, to tell you the truth, I've had a crush on you since middle school. I guess I liked your competitiveness," he said.  
  
"Really? I've liked you for a long time too, but I didn't really know that I did," she replied, and Larry pulled into the park's parking lot.  
  
He opened her door and they got out, starting to walk along the sidewalk very slowly. When they got to a bench, they sat down, and Larry pulled a long, skinny box from his pocket, and handed it to Ren.  
  
"I know it's not much, but since it was your birthday a few days ago, I decided to get you something," he explained.  
  
She opened the box, revealing a non-expensive silver necklace with an angel on it. "Oh Larry, it's beautiful," she said truthfully. "You didn't need to get me anything."  
  
"That's okay," he said, and helped her to put it on.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," he said.  
  
"Larry," she said.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked, but he was soon answered. Ren was leaning towards him, towards his face, for a kiss. Their lips met and their eyes closed, and they kissed passionately for about a minute. When Ren finally broke the kiss, Larry smiled.  
  
"I like you Larry," she said.  
  
"I like you too Ren," he said, and they started talking. At about ten minutes to twelve, they got up and walked back to the car and drove to Ren's house.  
  
"Do you want me to walk you to the door?" he asked.  
  
"Why don't you come inside for a minute?" she asked.  
  
"I guess I could," he said. They got out and went to the front door, which Ren unlocked. They went to the living room and sat on the couch. They soon started to kiss again, for a while longer this time. Larry pushed Ren's hair out of her face and looked into her eyes. "You're beautiful, do you know that?" he asked her.  
  
"I'm not that pretty," she said.  
  
"Yeah, yes you are. You're very pretty."  
  
"Thank you. You're not so bad yourself," she said and laughed softly.  
  
"I know, I'm a natural stud," he joked.  
  
He kissed her one more time and told her he had to go, but he'd see her the next day at school. He got up and let himself out, and Ren sat in the living room for a few minutes before she got up and went to bed.  
* * * * * * * * * *  
Chapter 3 soon. Please reply if you liked it. 


	3. The Notes

Sweet Sixteen  
  
Chapter 3: The Notes  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
The note came across the room from Larry, being passed from hand to hand until it finally landed in Ren's. She looked up to make sure the teacher wasn't looking, then she opened the note.  
  
Ren-  
I really had fun last night, I hope you did too.  
I know that we haven't exactly been on the  
best terms with each other, but it's already  
starting to change. And that's good. This  
is going to sound stupid, but does this make  
you and me boyfriend and girlfriend? To tell  
you the truth, I've only had one real girlfriend,  
and she wasn't half as good as you are. So  
please answer my stupid question.  
-Larry  
P.S. Do you wanna go out tomorrow night?  
  
Ren smiled and looked over at Larry, who was looking at her. He smiled back. She looked up at the teacher to make sure he wasn't looking, and she starting writing back, underneath Larry's pretty neat handwriting.  
  
Dear Larry,  
Yes, I did have fun last night, thanks for giving  
me a good time. About the boy/girlfriend thing,  
I think that we're boyfriend and girlfriend. And  
don't feel like a loser that you've only had one  
girlfriend. I've only had one actual boyfriend  
too, and that ended horribly. But you wouldn't  
do what he did to me. Yes, I'd like to go out  
tomorrow.  
Love,  
Ren  
  
She put her pencil down and folded the paper again. She handed it to the person next to her, and soon Larry was reading it. He smiled as he read what she wrote, and finally folded the note up and stuck it in his pocket just as the bell rang. They met up after class and walked to their next class together.  
* * * * * * * * * *  
Chapter 4 soon. Please reply if you liked it.  
I know it isn't really that good, it's just a couple notes, but I'm having trouble thinking of what else to add before the ending, this is one of my stories that I make up as I go along, it's not preplanned. :P 


End file.
